Enrolling Outside of Open Season

To enroll in the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) outside of open season, you must either be newly eligible or have experienced a qualifying life event (QLE), as defined below.

If you're newly eligible for FEDVIP, you have 60 days from the date you became eligible to enroll in a FEDVIP dental and/or vision plan.

Examples of new eligibility include:

You're a newly hired Federal employee.

You're a newly retired uniformed service member.

You're a family member of a sponsor who became an active duty service member.

You recently became a survivor.

To enroll, you must first check your eligibility and create a My BENEFEDS account. Then, select "Enroll" in dental or vision coverage from your account dashboard. We'll ask you a few questions to determine when your coverage will be effective.

If you experienced a qualifying life event (QLE), you may be able to enroll in FEDVIP outside of open season. You cannot request a new enrollment based on a QLE before the QLE occurs, with limited exceptions. The QLEs for FEDVIP may differ from QLEs for other federal benefits programs such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Each program has its own law and regulations.

To enroll, you must first check your eligibility and create a My BENEFEDS account. Then, select "Enroll" in dental or vision coverage from your account dashboard. We'll ask you a few questions to determine what QLE you experienced and if it allows you to enroll outside of open season.

The 2018 Federal Benefits Open Season ended on December 10, 2018 for coverage effective January 1, 2019. Open season is your annual opportunity to enroll in or change your FEDVIP coverage. Per FEDVIP regulations, there was a subsequent belated enrollment window from December 11, 2018 through March 10, 2019, which allowed enrollment in FEDVIP for persons who were unable to enroll during open season due to extenuating circumstances. FEDVIP regulations do not permit extending the belated enrollment timeframe past three months.

Since the 2018 open season and belated enrollment window have both ended, you must either be newly eligible or have experienced a qualifying life event (QLE) in order to enroll in FEDVIP for 2019 coverage.

If you are not newly eligible or you have not experienced a QLE, the next opportunity for you to enroll in FEDVIP dental and/or vision coverage will be during the 2019 Federal Benefits Open Season with coverage effective January 1, 2020. Open season typically runs from the second Monday in November through the second Monday in December each year.